There are many applications in academic, industrial, and medical fields, as well as others, that benefit from devices and methods that are capable of accurately and controllably delivering fluids, including liquids and gases that have a beneficial effect when administered in known and controlled quantities. This is particularly true in the medical field where treatments for many patients include the administration of a known amount of a substance at predetermined intervals. The treatment of diabetes involves just such a regimented dosage medicaments such as insulin. In addition, the administration of insulin for a diabetic patient is one of a few medical indications wherein patients routinely administer the medicament to themselves by a subcutaneous modality, such as a hypodermic syringe injection. As such, providing a patient with the means to safely, reliably and comfortably administer required doses of medication may be particularly important in order to facilitate patient compliance and accurate treatment of the condition.
Continuous subcutaneous insulin injection and/or infusion therapy is initiated for the replacement of insulin and thereby the treatment of diabetes. Such therapy may include the regular and/or continuous injection or infusion of insulin into the skin of a person suffering from diabetes, injection is the traditional method for administering insulin. Typically the diabetic will measure his or her blood glucose level and depending on the level thereof may prepare a syringe or injection pen with insulin to be injected transdermally into the body. However, insulin injecting pumps have also been developed for the administration of insulin for those suffering from both type I and II diabetes. Insulin pumps are medical devices used for the administration of insulin in the treatment of diabetes and offer an alternative to multiple daily injections of insulin by an insulin syringe or an insulin pen. They also allow for continuous insulin therapy. Examples of such pumps and various features that can be associated with such pumps include those disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/557,163, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/714,299, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/538,018, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/656,967 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,287,495, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.